when is surge pricing

The Guru Take

Surge pricing has no set time or dates. happens when there is a high demand for cars (ie: lots of riders are looking for a ride in the same area) and there are not enough drivers to satisfy all the riders. This tends to be during major events such as sporting games or during rush hour.

To read more about Surge Pricing click here.

lilly 1026

RideGuru market data & operations expert

Here are great tips:

Check out these articles:

Surge Pricing Made Simple

When do surges typically happen? When are surge times?

More tips:

• Take out the Uber App the week before your trip and around the same time as your trip, and bring up the estimate. This is a good way to check if there will be a surge.  The weekly trends are fairly consistent.

• Check for the day of your trip, if there are local events or school vacations.  These are some things that may cause a surge or at least have the drivers shift their coverage.  You want to be aware of these.

• Schedule your ride.  If you are worried about not being able to get a ride on the day of your trip, if you schedule your ride, Uber will try to give you priority over others.  Now, Scheduled Rides are still subject to surge pricing, but at least you will get a ride.

• Have options.  If on the travel day, you find that Uber is surging, you may want to look at other services.  You may want an account with Lyft.  You may want the phone number to a local taxi company (that doesn't surge).  If you have one-hour, you can even make a reservation with a limo company.  Smart travelers, always have backups, in case a surge may occur.

ippei 1202

Uber Driver, CEO of TaxiFareFinder and Unleashed, LLC